Graduate Diploma in History

The Graduate Diploma in History us a a one year (full time) or two year (part time) 60-ECTS credit degree programme, taught within a friendly and dynamic environment.

The programme is targeted at students who wish to progress to further study, or who wish to develop key transferable skills vital to many and diverse careers.

It is designed for

students coming to history from a non-cognate subject

those who, for whatever reason, may not have lived up to their potential in their BA

those returning to education after a long period of absence

We value and promote a strong work ethic, intellectual curiosity, and the importance of independent learning. These values are instilled within a robust but friendly and supportive environment, with a particular focus on encouraging an awareness of broad historiographical trends and the development of the skills required to assess and analyse different forms of primary evidence.

A key feature of the Graduate Diploma Programme is that students who perform strongly in the first semester can apply to be transferred to the MA. The MA is completed within the same academic year.

On completion of this programme, a student will have developed a strong work ethic and awareness of the effort required tro succeed at graduate level, as well as demonstrating:

an ability to survey in a critical and analytical fashion the historiography of given subjects

an ability to survey a body of scholarship written over time, to offer an informed critical and analytical commentary, and to identify fertile areas for further research

an awareness of a number of major historiographical trends since the nineteenth century

the confidence to work with and handle a range of primary sources, especially those relevant to the chosen research subject of the learner

a drive to work independently but to thrive on and respond to the feedback of peers and the teaching staff within a structured environment

the ability to take an embryonic idea for a research project and develop it into a successful 8,000-word piece of scholarship. A range of skills will be required, including: planning, historiographical awareness, analytical ability to handle primary sources, & ability to communicate findings

The learning environment stresses the importance of resesarch, critical and analytical thinking, and of making informed challenges to prevailing ideas, interpretations and approaches. Small group seminars are vital to the programme's design; it is here, in a very structured and active learning environment where students hone their ability to present, defend and question historical knowledge. The learning trajectory is supported through the use of weekly research journals, presentations, essays and book reviews. The taught elements of the programme are intended to build and develop the skill set and confidence of learners to equip them to undertake the research project.

In addition to the taught courses, students will also work on a Graduate Research Project over the course of semester 1 and 2. This Project will be worth 30 credits. The Research Project will normally be a dissertation of 8,000 words including footnotes but excluding bibliography and appendices.

A good undergraduate degree (at least a 2:2). Applicants whose first language is not English should demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 7.0 (no band less than 6.5 in each element), or equivalent. You can apply here